Differentiation at Ormondale

Differentiation at Ormondale

IntroductionEvery child is unique. Differentiation is the process by which teachers respond to student learning styles, skills, interests, background knowledge, and academic readiness to maximize learning. Engaging students in meaningful, respectful tasks at each stage of their development may appear outwardly different in each grade level, but the purpose is always to enable them to learn to the best of their ability. The goal is for differentiation to be woven seamlessly into the fabric of each classroom, making this process invisible to the students as it is simply part of how every day unfolds.

To meet the needs of individual students, teachers may use:

various instructional techniques

small group, whole class, and individual instruction

student choice

options for demonstrating students have reached mastery

different resources and activities

In all Ormondale classrooms, teachers engage students with different learning styles through the use of:

technology such as interactive whiteboards and desktop computers

math manipulatives

hands-on experiments

small group guided reading

questioning and critical thinking

interest based projects

Investigative Learning

You are invited to step into our classrooms to see a sample of differentiated instruction in action. While not exhaustive, these videoshighlight the daily experience of differentiation in various subjects and across grade levels. Select the grade level or specialist area you would like to explore.

Additional ResourcesThese books and websites provide more information if you are interested in exploring the research and theory that guides our work at Ormondale.

Books:

The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners
by Carol Ann Tomlinson